By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Scriba Disaster: Sakai-based LMS for UC Davis is down with no plans for recovery
Phil Hill, e-Literate, 2016/05/30
There's open source and then there's open source. One type of open source is more properly called 'community source', and that's what Sakai is. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Africa getting impatient for the dawn of e-learning era
Tom Jackson, Disrupt Africa, 2016/05/30
I've read a dozen or so press releases and articles about the recently concluded eLearning Africa conference in Cairo and this one seems to summarize best the general tenor of the discussion. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Here's how artificial intelligence could solve the biggest problem in education
Rafi Letzter, Tech Insider, 2016/05/30
I confess, I read this item because I wondered what the author considered "the biggest problem in education." Here's what it is: "of the hordes of students that sign up for massive open online classes (MOOCs), an average of less than 7% finish." Well, education has its problems, but I think this is far from the biggest of them. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Psst…Wanna buy a bottle of air?
Grant Frost, frostededucation, 2016/05/30
Best analogy for 'grit' thus far: "when faced with a decreasing demand for a product in one market segment, the internationally massive and multi-billion dollar testing industry would look to create a new product that meets the increasing demands of another," writes Grant Frost. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Reclaim the Internet
Various authors, Reclaim the Internet, 2016/05/27
Several studies have just come out describing the uneasy reality of gender non-parity in social networks:
This link points to a British initiative, Reclaim the Internet. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. You’re the Variable
Alfred Thompson, Computer Science Teaacher, 2016/05/27
Algebra has once again come under challenge and in response there have been the usual defenses, such as this article on why we need algebra. To me (as I do things like measure the amount of paint required to cover a four bedroom house) the answer is pretty clear. But people like Andrew Hacker argue it should be dropped from the curriculum because it's a leading cause of dropouts. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Why the tablets in schools debacle is over
Donald Clark, Donald Clark Plan B, 2016/05/27
I'm writing this post on a three-year old laptop even though I could be using a tablet. Why? The screen is larger, so I don't need to squint to read. The keyboard is hefty and responsive. It's really light (the carbon fibre construction is actually lighter than my iPad). It has HDMI and USB and earbud ports. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. MediaSmarts launches comprehensive digital literacy framework for secondary schools
Press Release, MediaSmarts, 2016/05/27
MediaSmarts (which once upon a time had a much better name, the Media Awareness Network) has released the final installment of Use, Understand & Create: A Digital Literacy Framework for Canadian Schools. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. “Transforming” Public Schools: Enough already with an Overhyped Word!
Larry Cuban, Larry Cuban on School Reform, Classroom Practice, 2016/05/27
At a certain point of overuse a word loses its meaning. "Transform" is one such word, according to Larry Cuban. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Tallahassee Community College boosts affordability, access in math courses using open educational resources
Press Release, Lumen Learning, 2016/05/27
In 2015 there were roughly 20 million students in the United States. Why is this significant? According to this release from Lumen Learning, which is similar to others I've seen, the use of open educational resources - specifically, open textbooks - saved 4,825 students some $535,000 in that same year. More...
/https%3A%2F%2Fprofilepics.canalblog.com%2Fprofilepics%2F1%2F0%2F1076071.jpg)
